An Absurd Love Story
by Pooroxification
Summary: Yong Soo is not interested in love or life. He does whatever he wants, whether he is an important man for his country or not. So it wasn't surprising that it did quirk him when a gentle boy and a girl came into his 'sweet' life, and turned it upside down.
1. Chapter 1

"Ne, are other Korean boys like you?" The blonde chick, lying beside him, only covered with a thin white sheet, purred.

His eyes trailed the greyish track above him, bit on his cigarette, and distantly asked, "Which do you mean? Cuteness? Skills in bed? Or both?"

She giggled and leaned closer to him from her spot, tracing circles in his chest. "Both."

"Nope," he puffed, elbows folded behind his head, and recited, "both of my charm points cannot be compared with them. These are my trademarks, mine only."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say." She giggled again and rolled her eyes playfully. "By the way, Yong Soo-kun, don't you have school today?"

"I could just skip it."

"Not a bad idea," she said suggestively and threw the sheet over her. Showing her naked glory to him, she pranced towards the bathroom, looking ominously glowing. He sighed, dazed in the puffs of smoke floating above his head. _What am I doing here?_

He got up sowly, taking his time and carelessly threw on his clothes and left without a word, just like what he always did, always had, with every girl. He walked through the hush corridors and into the streets. He walked in circles – curving, U-turning, zig-zagging on the empty streets. A few flashes of carlights passed by him, sweeping the piercing cold breeze to his neck. He shivered for a bit, then continued to walk.

Yong Soo sometimes wondered why he hadn't left this town, this country, earlier. His father had sent him a request to come back to his home country, serving the family traditions with him, and therefore, staying by his side, as the next family head.

Chained by his side.

He didn't know why he went to school either. Well, he knew why, it's just that he didn't understand why he went along with it. Assuming – very persistently – that Yong Soo would be the head of the household after him, his father had casted him in the best school, though oddly, in the most remote part of Japan. Nonetheless, after realizing just seconds ago how foolish his intent of leaving was, he was glad he was able to throw that binding future past his shoulder. At least for a while.

He would rather die than be chained.

He sighed, and a white puff – a mixture of smoke and cold breath – swelled below his nose. He watched it ascend to the air above his crown and tried to catch it with his cupped hands. But unsurprisingly, it could only disappear into nothingness. He chuckled. _I feel so empty._

Hello! ^-^ I don't really know what to say here, but, hello! Frankly speaking, this pairing isn't my favorite, but alas, here I am, inspired and full of ideas, writing a… pretty _weird_ story about them. I will warn you that some (or even most) of the characters here are going be out of character (OOC). Heck, even Yong Soo feels out of character (though you have to excuse me, as my imagination contradicts even the most insane part of my mind). There will be a gender-bended character, though it might disappoint you that the character looks or seems nothing like the original, so I apologise in advance. (this an edited version of the first chapter. I apologise for the writers who had taken and wasted (though I hope not) their time reading the original, crappy version of this chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. Happy reading!)


	2. Chapter 2

2. The First Meeting With A Friend (Yong Soo) 

"Yo," somebody greeted.

"Yo!" Yong Soo greeted, radiantly smiling, eyes sparkling. This was how he interacted with his classmates – a simply, cheerful greeting, nothing deep. Except maybe to one person. His partner in crime.

"Ah, isn't it great today?" Chris chirped.

"?"

"There's going to be a new student in our class. It'll probably be another dude, but if you wish hard enough, it'll come true."

Yong Soo scratched his hair. "You know, you just sounded like a geezer just now."

"Eeeeh? Yong-kun is so meeeeeaaaan~!"

I'm sorry, Chris-kun, I'll fix my behaviour right away!" he said as he fisted his and with exaggerated determination, and comically smiled as his eyes sparkled. The background almost looked flowery around him.

Chris sighed. "You know, wouldn't it be better to just take a chill pill and rip off that mask of yours? It's not like you have to put it on anymore, since your dad abandoned you… and all."

_Eh, is that how he sees it? More like I abandoned him. _

"I guess it will be nice…"

"But…?"

Now, Yong Soo was the one to sigh. "Would life be anymore fun if I don't have this mask?"

"Maybe not…"

"Exactly."

"So what do you plan on doing?"

Yong Soo lifted his head for a moment, ignoring the words' true meaning. "We can go to the new nightclub, you know, the one at Ginza."

Chris smirked, even though unsatisfied. "Sounds like fun"

"Tonight?"

"Nah, I can't. Mai wants me to go on a date with her."

Yong Soo raised his eyebrows. "Idiot, you should have ditched her when she went with that guy that time."

Chris scratched his head. "Well, not like I care about that. All I want is her body; she is the one who goes on and thinks that we have a special relationship."

"Then why did you agree to be her boyfriend, moreover, go on a date with her?"

"…"

"Oi, are you listening?"

"My sister… She's my sister's friend."

Yong Soo slapped the back of Chris's head. "Are you in love with your sister, to the point that you can't even hurt her friends?"

"Why would that be it? That's just disgusting."

"Right. It's just good ol' sister complex."

"It's not that either, jerk!" Chris said as he blushed.

Yong Soo clasped his hand together as his cheeks flushed. "Aww, that's sooo cute, Chris-kun~!"

"Don't just bring up your mask when it's convenient!"

"Ha, at this rate, your sister would be a maiden for life."

"Shut up! None of her previous boyfriends are good enough for her!" A vein popped out of his forehead. "Especially those Italian and Spanish bastards. Who the hell do they think they are? They could just eat as much tomatoes as they want for all I care, but don't they ever take a bite of my sister!"

_A dark feeling needing to be released, huh?_ "Well, your sister _is_ cute."

"I'm not handing her over to you."

"Who said that I'm into younger girls?"

"Che, just pointing out that even you are not worth her time. No, you'll be the worst of the worst."

"Aren't we similar?"

"Shut up."

Just before their conversation ended, the bell rang, and lessons had begun.

The new girl turned out to be an international transfer student. She was called Melissa and she had just come from England. She was cute, very cute, but Yong Soo wasn't interested.

He fell back on his chair when the lunch bell rang. "Hideous," he murmured while letting his opened Math book rest on his nose. "Math is hideous."

Chris rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Want to go to the café?"

He stood up, stretched and yawned. "I'll catch up with you later. I need to go somewhere."

"Ho?" Chris sniggered. "The music room?"

"I'm not going to hook up, idiot." He left and went upstairs.

When he arrived at the rooftop, he saw that another person had dwelled his favourite spot. From the flowing honey strands of hair and the silhouette of a skirt, Yong Soo decided that it was a female. He slowly approached the girl, while slowly putting on his mask.

He smiled warmly. "Hello." The girl turned around.

"Yes?" she asked, as if expecting a request.

He proceeded to sit next to her. "You're the new student, aren't you?"

A carton of cigarettes slightly slid out of his pocket as he bent his knees to sit. The girl looked at the peeping carton and briefly nodded. "You came here to smoke."

An inexperienced 'newbie' might be flustered at a situation like this, since it will jeopardize his goody-two-shoes image (as a goody-two-shoes does not smoke). But Yong Soo could straight away know what to do. First, he crumpled his face into a bitter look. "Ah, just occasionally." Then he sadly smiled. "Sometimes I just can't handle the most stressful things on my own. I don't like it, though – smoking, that is."

With that, usually, he would earn a reaction of soft pity, and with that as well, he knew that manipulation was the easiest thing in the world.

When he saw the girl's eyebrows lowered, he mentally chuckled. _Easy, Easy_, he thought. But his confidence suddely burst when she snorted, "Do you always put on that face?"

Yong Soo, deflated out of his self-esteem, tried to mend his facial expression back to normal. "Face?" he asked.

She snickered, continuing to mock. "Life isn't a soap opera, you know."

Putting his face into a confused knot, he shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She laughed, holding her stomach. "That is the lamest line I've ever heard coming out of a two-face."

He breathed in, trying to throw her another defensive word, but he was tired. He just needed a smoke. He exhaled, letting his mask slip off. Just this once is fine, right?

"You are so annoying," he grumbled.

Amused, she teased further, "Eh? Is that it? You're not going to continue anymore?" She smirked. "I was just going to give you my final line."

"No, thank you."

She chuckled.

"It's as if you have seen so many people like me," he muttered exasperatedly.

"I haven't,' she nonchalantly spoke, while her hand flipped the cigarette carton's cover, while still being in his pocket, and took one of the many cigarettes inside. "A liar can identify a liar," she declared. She pulled a lighter out of her shirt pocket and lit the cigarette, inhaling, then exhaling the smoke.

"We just met."

"That doesn't stop me from knowing."

"It takes a pro to know _and_ blow my cover," he challenged.

"You can call me that then."

He scratched his hair harder. "You really _are_ annoying."

"Thank you." She titled her head towards him. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Why do you think I would tell you?"

"I don't mind if you don't tell me…"

"Im Yong Soo."

"Im…?" She turned to look at him properly before realising something very astonishing. "You are _that_ man's son?"

"Yeah…"

"Holy...!" she shouted in English. "What the hell are you doing here?"

_So she's foreign_. He switched his tongue to English. "Nothin' much."

"People are not aware of your position?" she asked.

"No, only you, the principal and another friend of mine know."

She looked at him, then sighed. "What did your mum say about not trusting strangers?"

He shrugged, a lit cigarette already in his mouth. "Can't I show my gratitude for my _fellow liar_? I'm sure you can keep secrets."

"So, you're shifting half of your responsibility to my shoulder?"

"Eh? What are you talking about, Melissa-chan?" he said (in Japanese) with an air of innocence.

"Oh well." She shrugged. "You'll probably get an army of assassins to go after me if I tell people about you, right?"

He bitterly laughed. "I'm not like my father, you know."

"Well," she said as she turned away to leave, "I'm just saying that I won't say a thing."

"Right."

She turned her head to the side – barely peeking at him – and waved. "Nice meeting you, lad."

He grimaced at her sarcasm. "You too, _miss_."

She clicked her tongue. "Cheeky." Then she left.

* * *

Hello again! This is a really, really, really long chapter! I'm sorry if it's really boring since I was thinking of giving off information by speech T-T (sorry it failed) and it got really long, so I'm so, so, so sorry! This might not happen again! Okay, I will explain a few points to you, because, in this fic, I'm focusing more on the events rather than details, so I don't mention them in the story:

-Chris is Netherlands. Yes, I know he's personality here is waaaaay off! TT-TT Ah, I feel bad for making him to be this kind of character, since he is cool (is anyone not in Hetalia?), but I need someone to be 'like' Yong Soo and has a spiky hair (I was going to use Denmark, but my brain complained that this character should have a MASSIVE sister complex, and the only one I could think of that has it is Netherlands TT-TT DAMMIT, I HATE YOU, BRAIN. And so, Netherlands was used.)

-You might have guessed who his sister is, right? If you haven't, It's Belgium. And… well, you know who the Spanish and Italian bastards, right? (*cough* Spain and *cough* Romano) Yeah, I kinda ship Spain x Belgium, Romano x Belgium, and, well, a little Romano x Spain. xP

-Yes! It is fem!England! I don't know how to make fem!France (and since I love England so much, I used him as a girl). *bowing down in apology in front of England*

-Yong Soo became really OOC. Dammit, I really hate my brain.

If there's anything that you would like to confirm, please tell me by review. That's all! Have fun reading!


	3. Chapter 3

3. Their First Meeting

_From far away, a heavy tapping of shoes on the floor resounded. It clicked faster and faster until there was point that we would imaginatively hear the light thud of a fall. Now, I can assure you the beginning of how the two persons whose fingers were tied by a red string met... _

The Asian girl dashed through the hallway, only slowing down at the sight of a doorplate. She was sure that he transferred here, to this country, to this town, and to this school, but of course it wasn't a surprise that she wasn't able to find him right away. Although the school she attended now was in a small town, many people seemed to be attracted to it, thus making it one of the two most largely populated schools among the many towns in its area.

She slowly tip-toed towards the door and slightly opened it. _What am I doing?_ she thought. _He might have gone home already._ When there was no indication of him being present, she heavily sighed and slid the door shut. _He wasn't there after all._

"Who isn't here?" A gentle voice turned Mei Mei's head. Her eyes widened in joy when she saw the boy she was looking for smiled in front of her.

"Hong-kun!" she squealed. She was about to give him a hug when she saw the people around her whispering. She drew back her arms and nervously latched them on her back. He chuckled, calming her tension. She liked Hong Kong. She really liked him. For her, he was a very bright and a very warm sunshine. She really, really liked him.

"Welcome, Mei-chan," he greeted her, congratulating her arrival, into school and into the country. "How are you doing?"

She grinned. "Good!"

Hong Kong smiled. Taking her hand in his, he asked, "Shall we go home together, then?"

Her eyes brightened and yelled, "Yes!" in happiness.

O.o.O

It had been weeks since he first met Melissa. He didn't remember how, but somehow she easily became another of his 'partner in crime'. She came to smoke again at the rooftop with him since that encounter they had, then she met with Chris, then, somehow, they began to make bets amongst each other, then, suddenly, without a spoken constitution, she became one of them. Of course, the teachers watching them were happy, since by their glasses, the three of them had become the 'good' group, having 'high achievements', 'honorable morals' and 'cheerful personalities'. They wanted to barf at the statements, but smiled sweetly and thanked them.

"Hey, hey, Mel-chan, can you help me with something?" Chris asked.

Melissa yawned. "And what is that going to be, boy?"

"Go out with me?" he asked effortlessly.

"Sure, but why?" she asked, knowing that Chris was hiding something.

"Tee-hee~! I got caught!" he said in a high voice. Then he became serious. "I really want to get rid of this clingy girl. She thinks that I am… you know, her boyfriend, because I 'took her virginity away' and all those kinds of crap. I kept rejecting her, but she kept pestering me. It was okay at first, since I could just usually ignore her, but she then resort to… to…"

Yong Soo swore that he saw Chris's eyes glossed in tears. Not wanting for his friend to break down, he spoke for him. "The girl started telling his sister about him, lies and… well, half-truths, I guess. So, his sister started scolding him, and in the end, she decided to ignore him. So she won't speak to him, even at home…"

"Okay." She raised her hand. "I got it. So you want me to make that clingy girl of yours cry and never see you again, correct?"

Chris nodded, and she sighed. "Alright, but I need to ask you: Why don't you ask Soo-kun to help you instead? I guarantee it will be more effective, and since I am meant to be 'the other girl', wouldn't it backfire and affect your sister's image of you?"

"Wait." His hand rested at his forehead. "First, you're telling me that I should become gay? With Yong Soo?"

"Isn't that not more effective?' she suggested. "I can tell you that women could not do anything about their lover being gay, and as a bonus for you, she wouldn't pester the 'other party'. Women usually won't do anything if her love rival is the opposite sex, especially if they think of him as 'deliciously cute', and, from my observation, I guess 1 out of 1 girl thinks that you are, Soo-kun."

Yong Soo ignored her last statement.

"Yong-kun, will you go out with me?" Chris said, partly serious.

"No."

"Please!" He lowered his head. "Please, I beg of you! I will give you 200 married chicks I know; I'll give you 100,000 cups of Haagen-Dazs; I'll even go kiss a dog's ass if you want me to. Just… please, do this act with me, just once!"

"N-" But his answer was stopped when he came face-to-face with a person he knew. The person slowly approached them, although unintentionally. As he neared, a ball in his stomach slowly rose as he looked at the person laughing. _Eh?_ He looked at his stomach. There was no growling of hunger. But he felt something, didn't he? Then, as if the feeling in his stomach wasn't enough, his chest pounded as he saw the person smile. _Eh?_ His hand flew to his chest. _W-What is this?_ He tried to look again at the person, not sure of what was happening to him. As the consequence for letting his eyes stray towards the source of the strange reactions he had been having, he jolted with happiness when the person averted his eyes to him and smiled at his direction. _Whaaaaa?_ _What's happening to me? What in the world is going on?_

"Good afternoon, Yong Soo-san," the person said.

As his forehead covered with sweat, he squeaked, "A… Ah, good afternoon." Yong Soo's of hope for the person to not notice his squeak was fruitless when the person looked at him with concern. "Yong Soo-san, are you alright?"

Chris, coming to his rescue – though not knowing what had happened to Yong Soo himself – said quickly, "He seems to have a sore throat. I didn't know what he ate earlier, but when the school ended his voice turned out like this."

_Yay, for Chris! _Yong So cheered in his head.

"Oh, I see," the person said, still with a bit of worry in his words. "Ah, then, we better go. You should get rest, Yong Soo-san. It might be the flu that is going around the neighbourhood recently."

_We?_ Yong Soo noticed. Soon, he realized that there was another person by the person's side. He was shocked, by his insensitivity, and by another part of his realisation: he was too engulfed by the person's presence that he couldn't think or even feel of anything else.

Hong Kong, thinking that Yong Soo's lingering stare at Mei Mei implied that he wanted an introduction, uttered in apology, "Ah, I'm very sorry! I should have introduced you two earlier."

Mei Mei, who was previously looking at her shoes, looked up at Hong Kong in confusion.

"This is Honda Mei Mei," Hong Kong introduced. Mei Mei bowed robotically while murmuring, "Nice to meet you."

"Mei-chan, this is Kurahashi Yong Soo," Hong Kong said.

"Nice to meet you," Yong Soo said in obligation, now regaining his composure.

"Then we shall go." Hong Kong bowed. "Please get well soon, Yong Soo-san." Then he turned to Melissa and Chris. "Ah, nice to meet you two."

Melissa and Chris murmured their line of introduction in unison. Then, as the two people left, they turned to Yong Soo, horrified.

"Soo-kun…"

"Don't tell me…"

"You are…"

"You like that _guy_?" They shouted, again, in unison.

"I… He… No... I don't know!" Yong Soo sweated. "I don't get it. What the hell is this am I feeling?"

Chris could have never imagined saying this line to Yong Soo, but…

"It's called love."

Yong Soo stared. He stared, and stared, until he couldn't help but blink. "Huh?"

"Y-You are… oh, damn it, I can't say this twice!" Chris pulled his hair. "Yong Soo! You bastard, I can't believe… you… you, the lady killer, are hopelessly in love with a gentle and petite guy like him!" Chris pointed at the direction Hong Kong and Mei Mei went.

"What?" _Love?_ he thought. _No way… with a guy?_ He gasped. _No, no way that's love, right? It's just a weird feeling. I mean, I only met him twice! It can't possibly be love. I met with women so much more than him; some of them I met every day, and none of them gave me this reaction before..._

Melissa sighed. "So scenes like this in dramas and shoujo mangas _do_ exist, eh? Thanks for teaching me that."

Chris also sighed. "Unbelievable."

"S-Shut up! You two are completely mistaken! How come I don't feel that it's love?" Yong Soo pondered.

"Then what do you think it is?" Melissa returned the question tired.

He fell silent.

"Ha-ah..." Chris exhaled. "If you don't know the answer, all we can think of out of those reactions you made was that you really _are_ in love with him."

Yong Soo could only rub his head. "Okay, let's just go home now. I need to think." And without saying a word, he walked on, leaving the two behind.

((((((()))))))

Not a very dramatic first meeting for the two, isn't it? Ahaha, I kinda did that on purpose, as I'm trying to show that two people who are (might be) meant for each other, could meet in a very inappropriate and boring way. I guess I did make that happen, since it's really easy to make something boring xP Um, yeah, as you can see, Yong Soo is in love with Hong Kong (I can't think of any other name befitting this guy other than his country name). I'm sorry it turned out having a bit of boy's love (for readers who do not like homosexuality, I apologise) but don't worry, it _is_ a Korea x Taiwan fic, so I will not a bend from its path. Oh, and please review review REVIEW, just to see if you like it or not (it's fine if you don't like it, though, if you want, please tell me which parts you don't like). THANK YOU FOR READING!


	4. Chapter 4

"Impossible," Yong Soo assured himself for the fifteenth time today. "Impossible, I tell you, it's impossible."

Yong Soo had been fighting with himself since the afternoon of the incident. For hours and hours he tumbled and turned in his sleep, muttering useless nonsense and clawing at the pillow. The voices that came into his head varied from Melissa's, Chris's, to his own voice. Their voices didn't sound normal. In fact, it would be truer to call them scornful remarks.

_Running from reality, are we… _

_Just give it up, Yong-kun; you're in love with that guy..._

_Hey… is it really that bad, liking a dude? You are just too attached to women. _He snorted_. I bet playing with a guy is twice as much fun as playing with those dumb whores._

"I can't hear you," he hissed.

"Oi, is it really that bad with you?" Chris's real voice intruded in his mind.

"What is?"

"You being gay."

A needle poked his chest. "You're very blunt recently," he snarled.

"Take a chill pill." He gulped his coffee, unthreatened. "I'm just telling the truth."

"I'm not gay, dickhead," he spat.

"What's wrong with being gay?"

"Nothing."

"And, your problem is…?"

"It's just not possible for me."

He slammed his can on the table. "Why is that?"

"It…" He twitched. "It just seems unlikely."

"Okay." Chris put his hands up in surrender. "I don't care about what you thought of that issue anymore. I just need to know if you're going to be gay with me."

Yong Soo twitched again. "The way you put it is too vulgar."

"Nevermind about vulgarity – are you doing it?"

When Yong Soo didn't answer, Chris pouted, "If you're not going to do it, then I'll ask the pretty boy to do it with me."

A dark tingle crept through his chest. "Over my dead body," he bellowed.

"Then… going once!... going twice!" Chris folded his fingers to form numbers. "And…"

Yong Soo unwillingly buried his face in his arms and sighed, "I'll do it. But you owe me one."

Chris grinned. "And… sold!"

_God, are you happy now? Making a fool out of my life?_ Yong Soo desperately thought.

Apparently not.

(((((((())))))))

I feel so mean to Yong Soo (making his character like this in the first place was already very mean of me). He went through a lot, a lot more than I expected. I apologise if I offend you for having these preferences of 'gay'. I had no intention of wrecking your beliefs; I just hoped that the characters I tried to describe show through. Thank you for reading, and please review. Your words are jewels to me. (Next up, FINALLY, a Yong Soo x Taiwan moment!)


	5. Chapter 5

5. The Day They Clash

"What exactly are we doing?"

"You'll just need to play along."

"Okay, but I need to tell you something: I have never been romantic to guys."

"Then just freaking treat me as a girl."

"A really big and buff one."

"Do you really need to answer back?"

"Yes, I do, actually, especially…" Yong Soo groaned, "Especially when we have to be in a position like this!"

Chris peeked at his arms, which were wrapped comfortably around Yong Soo's waist. "So? It's just hugging."

"Yeah, hugging you is a very normal sense of action."

"Come on, just this once," Chris said loudly, indirectly speaking to someone 'invisible'. "I won't do anything you won't like."

A lingering shadow behind the wall twitched.

"She stalks you as well?" Yong Soo whispered.

"As you can see – yes."

"Damn, she's one hell of a stalker. I didn't even know that she was there."

"I guess it was the same with her previous boyfriend. Heck, why does my sister know people like her?"

"Save that for later." Yong Soo cringed. "I want this over and done with."

"Shouldn't we go to a less crowded place…?"

"No, just get this over and done with."

"Yeah, well-"

"Yong Soo-San! Takuma-san!" A familiar voice called. Chris and Yong Soo stared at each other in disbelief. _Don't tell me…_

"Hello!" the voice yelled again. The owner of the voice waved at them. Chris jerked away from Yong Soo.

"Oh, hello, Wang-san," Chris greeted, faking his cheerful smile.

"Why the hell is he here?" Yong Soo whispered through his grin.

"I don't know, but this is what I was afraid of. I told you we should have gone to a less crowded place."

"What are you doing here?" Hong Kong smiled politely at them. "I've never seen you guys here before."

"Uh…" They looked at their surroundings. It's true; they had never been here before, considering that it was a place full of shops selling household items and cheap cooking ingredients.

"Um…" Why the hell did we come here?

"Well, what are _you_ doing here, Hong Kong-san?" Chris asked, hoping to copy Hong Kong's reason.

"Me?" Hong Kong chuckled. Yong Soo cringed. Stop beating so fast, you damn heart!

"There was a 30% discount for chicken breasts, so…" Hong Kong held his neck shyly. "I guess you can say that I have a housewife blood in me."

"Hey, hey," Chris taunted, "isn't he going to be a good 'wife' later? Why don't you just go eat him up and marry hi- Ow, what the fuck!"

"Go to hell, bastard."

"Ah, I should be going now." Hong Kong chortled in embarrassment. "My older brother wanted me to get a game for him here, and the shop that has it is going to close soon."

Chris's eyes lit up. "There is a game shop here?"

Hong Kong nodded. "Yes, and it is a very up-to-date one as well."

"Ano, Hong Kong-san?" Chris grinned."Can I come with you? There was a game that I wanted to get and…"

"Ah, please do come," Hong Kong uttered happily. "I am clueless when it comes to games. Maybe Takuma-san could help me find the game my brother is looking for?"

"I could and will," Chris stated with confidence.

"Oi, oi, Chris," Yong Soo whispered darkly, "what the hell are you saying? You're just going to leave me here?"

"Sorry, my man, I can't resist. Anyway, aren't you coming with us? He's here too, you know."

"He's exactly the reason why I don't want to go with you," Yong Soo hissed.

"Fine by me~!" Chris walked to Hong Kong's side. "Let's go, Wang-san."

"Yong Soo-san is not coming?" Hong Kong asked. Chris shook his head. "Then, Yong Soo-san?"

Yong Soo's head shot up. "Y-Yes?"

"Can you please watch over this girl?" A girl suddenly immerged from the shadows. _Oh, the girl from that time… _He nodded.

Hong Kong smiled and bowed. "Thank you."

O.o.O

The scenery in front of them burst with sounds and voices. In contrast, no word was exchanged between the girl and him. He heaved a long sigh. What took that bastard so long?

He felt the girl shift against the wall they were leaning on, and her voice yawned. Yong Soo, unable to stand the silence any longer, started a conversation. "So… are you Hong Kong-san's girlfriend?" he asked

The girl jerked her neck towards him with surprise. "Is that how it seems like?"

"No," he scratched his cheeks, "it's just that you're always with him."

She laughed at him. Her laugh was gentle but cold. "No," she replied.

"I see."

"You like him, don't you?"

Yong Soo jerked and his airway squeezed. That damn girl, why the fuck did she say that? He, trying to keep his composure, didn't have any choice but to mistake her word of 'like' as 'friendship.

"Yes," he answered, still struggling to breathe, "I like him."

"Not that," she dissatisfiedly moaned. "Do you _like_ him?"

Assured this time that what she really meant was _love_, his head pounded, and voices fled around his mind. _See, see, SEE? Everybody's saying that you're gay! Are you gonna take that? Are you?_

_Dude, everybody knows that you're truly in love with a _guy_._

_Come on, if a girl like her could even see, then isn't the truth obvious?_

"Kurahashi san?"

"Ha?" The arguments vanished in the split second she spoke. Not waiting for the voices to sound again, he responded, "Y-Yes?"

"Are you alright?" she asked, seemingly obligingly.

"Y… Yes," he answered. "I was just a little dizzy."

"Is it because of what I said?" His head began to pound again.

"No!'" he screamed out with malice, but the girl didn't seem to be frightened.

"I see, so you do like him," she said.

"Would you shut up!" he yelled. His head now felt like it was going to rip itself into two.

"Sorry," she said, but not with any intention of apologising. He itched to throw her a few words of insults, but he could only glare at her. _She is more infuriating than Melissa_, he judged.

"H-How old are you?" he grunted, changing the subject gruffly.

"Sixteen," she shortly replied. He was a bit surprised that she was actually the same age as him.

"You go to the same school as Hong Kong-san, right? Which class are you in?"

"10-C."

That was just a few classes away from his. "Why have I never seen you around?" he interrogated.

"I haven't been going to school since the few days I've attended," she said uncaringly.

He didn't mean to pry, but he asked anyway, "Why?"

At first, she didn't say anything, but then she scornfully looked at him. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious," he answered.

She blew out a breath. "You won't believe me if I tell you."

"Okay, then don't tell me."

"I won't," she agreed. "But I want to say something. Don't get angry after I said it, okay?"

"What is it?"

"Love is inevitable, not looking at race, looks or even gender, so don't be in denial of it. Just accept it, even if you don't like it at first."

Yong Soo sighed in exhaustion, shutting his eyes. _Talking about that subject again, huh? She sounded so corny, though it didn't bring up the headache…_

"Well, I got that from someone," she shrugged. "But I guess it's implying that you might like it later, so just leave it alone. Besides, from my experience of love, it will wear off eventually if you just accept it. But personally, I feel that love is a bit _disgusting_." She said the last word bitterly. "_The feeling of love is forever_. _It conquers all boundaries,"_ she quoted incredulously._ "If you have love, you don't need anything else in this world_." Then she stopped for a moment, breathing slowly, as if preparing for something labouruos. "_There is no such thing as parents hating their children._"

Yong Soo didn't know what to say. He was never good with emotionally-affected people, especially girls. When he opened his eyes, though, her expression didn't change. She wasn't emotional like he thought, in fact, she seemed indifferent.

Mei Mei mumbled, "Sorry if I was rambling, I am just really… really itchy right now."

To his surprise, he knew exactly what she was trying to say. He had never laughed so hard in his life. "Oh my God, that is one heck of a word." He rubbed his teary eyes.

"What?" she sulked, "That is exactly what I felt right now in my left chest."

He cackled. "Right, that's a good word: 'itchy'."

Mei Mei knew that this seemed really rude to do to a stranger in Japan, especially when he looked a bit older than she was, but she hit him on his head anyway. She was annoyed with him now, and there was no way that she was going to hold it in. "I hate you for being so weird!"

Yong Soo, not willing to receive any of her insults, threw one back, "I hate you for being so annoying!"

"I hate you for not being able to accept your feelings towards Hong-kun!"

He flinched at her nickname for that person, and jealously scolded, "Why is that your problem, you little brat!"

"I treat him like a family, so it's because he is my brother!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it's none of your business!"

Not even seconds before they started bickering again, they heard a thud, and a held laughter. They turned to see Chris, (his mouth agape and his belongings on the asphalt floor) and Hong Kong (his eyes contentedly laughing while he covered his mouth). Yong Soo froze. Had they been there long enough to follow what they are saying?

(((((())))))

Thank you for patiently reading! Finally, a Yong Soo x Taiwan moment! I'm sorry that it took so long! (reader: Gah, stop apologising, dammit, you piss me off!) So… THIS IS KINDA AN ANGSTY FIC, ISN'T IT? I JUST REALISED. =.= Dammit, I fail at this job. Well, the way they interact with each other is inspired by a picture of them arguing in winter time x3 I find it very cute (thank you, artist, whoever you are). Oh, and I just found that, really, trying to convey things only with speech and little description is very unnerving, and it turned out very weird. So, I will vow that I will not do it again. Okay, I shall stop now. Have fun reading! And PLEASE REVIEEEEEEEEEEW!


	6. Chapter 6

"Nice meeting you again, you fretful coward," she scoffed, narrowing her eyes at the sight of him.

"Oh, the pleasure should be mine, you spiteful brat," he threw back in contempt.

"As a matter of fact, I actually found that I'm older than you by 2 days."

"Still, there is no questioning that you look like a brat. And, now that you said you're 2 days older than me, you must have found out when my birthday is. It just proves that you're a stalking brat. "

"You know, saying that will just lead you to your own downfall?" Mei Mei tutted. "After all, only I know of your secret crush with-" But Mei Mei was distracted when Yong Soo slapped his hand onto her mouth. She muffled in rage and tried to free his grip from her mouth, but he was too strong for her. "Muffgh uurgh mph!"

"Shh, okay, okay," he shushed her, ignoring the curious stares that had been implanted on them, "I won't call you that anymore, just please don't say anything about that to anyone."

Taiwan quietened down, acknowledging that she had the upper hand. She disapprovingly poked at the hand that still covered her mouth, and Yong Soo let his hand fall to his side. He sighed with relief when Taiwan didn't say anything after. "We should be going for lunch now," Yong Soo reminded.

Mei Mei looked at her wallet and found that she forgot to withdraw cash from her bank account. She was broke. She put her wallet back into her shirt pocket and said, "I guess I will starve for today."

Yong Soo peeked at her wallet and found no money inside it. He thoughtlessly offered, "I could buy you lunch, if you wan-," but quickly snapped his mouth shut when he realised what he was saying. She slowly lifted her gaze up at him, a bit hopeful. He realised now that that was why he didn't want to associate with any of the girls his age; they were just too bothersome to handle. "Fine," he said while pushing her towards the cafeteria. "I'll treat you, in return, you won't say a thing about _that_ to anyone, understand?"

Her eyes sparkled with joy, and that was that.

O.o.O

"Hey, Chris, is our calculation of Soo-kun really correct?" Melissa hesitantly asked while she tentatively concentrated her eyes on a window leading to the cafeteria.

"Huh?" Chris looked at Melissa while munching on his nikuman.

"Look," she said while pointing her finger at the window she had been eyeing. "That is him, isn't it, with that very pretty girl? It does seem to me that he is buying lunch for her."

Chris squinted at the direction Melissa had been pointing and was taken aback. _That was the girl with Hong Kong-san._

"Maybe we were mistaken. He might have actually liked the girl with Hong Kong-san rather than Hong Kong-san himself." Melissa sighed.

"Nope, that's unlikely," Chris assured her. "If it was that, he would have happily hopped to me and say to my face that I was wrong the whole time. Then laugh at me for my stupidity and keep bugging me about it till the end of next month, or till I knock him unconscious."

Melissa watched him with awe. "You really are his true friend. You even knew the details of what might happen to you if something like that happen."

"Nope." He shook his head. "Something like that _has_ happened before."

Somehow feeling that he didn't want any further discussion of that matter, she looked back at the cafeteria, only to find that the two people they had been talking about were gone. "Though I wonder why he is becoming so friendly to that girl," she said.

A rush of images from a few nights back came to Chris's head. He remembered accompanying Hong Kong to a game shop, and coming back only to find Yong Soo and the girl quarrelling like two little children on the side of the road. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the scene stunned him. The fight they had felt like one with a very close childhood friend, but that sounded very ironic to Chris, considering that they had just met.

"Hm… Maybe they know each other in their past lives," Chris joked.

Putting Chris's remark aside, she asked, "Let's go to the rooftop."

"Being a student in this school, you should know that the rooftop is off-limits." Chris warned. "Unless to certain people."

"If you're not going to jump of the building then no one can hold you back. Besides, I go there every Friday, and no one seemed to care."

"I'm just too lazy to go up." But Melissa didn't seem to hear him as she tugged at his shirt and pulled him onto the steps.

O.o.O

"Do you know of a high place in this school?" Mei Mei asked.

"Yeah, I know but... I don't think you should go there," Yong Soo advised.

"Whygh noth?" she mumbled through full cheeks as she bit half of her melon bun in one go.

"That place is forbidden for students, except me."

"How come?" she swallowed.

"Well, maybe because I'm such a good boy," he teased.

"That is definitely not right." Mei Mei shook her head. "Nonetheless, I would like to go to where it is."

"Fine, fine." He flailed his hands in surrender. "Geez, you're very demanding, just like a spoiled brat."

"Would you like me to go to the school's intercom and announce a few things, Kurahashi-san?" Mei Mei spoke a little too sweetly.

His shoulder jolted at her remark. "Off we go to the high place!" he declared, and his hand unconsciously grabbed hers, dragging her up the stairs with him.

(((((())))))

The romance is getting through rather slowly, isn't it? Ah, damn, I need to pick up pace. THANK YOU FOR READING!


	7. Chapter 7

7. How All Of Her Nightmares started (Mei Mei)

_Running. Running. Don't stop. Don't stop running. You stop running, you stopped your own life. _

_My feet couldn't stop moving, they wouldn't listen to the screaming pain. They kept running. Stop. Please. Please stop. _

_They shadow grew nearer, and nearer, and nearer. Oh god, feet, do run. They are coming. They are coming to get you. _

_Too late._

_Steel arms crept up and pulled me back. It wasn't scary and abrupt. It was slow, but haunting. Why, oh why?_

_Like a heavy load, I slumped against their dragging arms and was thrown inside a truck. Whimpers and wails were the only noises inside the truck, but they were halted as a red-eyed man screamed at them. How am I going to live like this? _

The world began to swirl.

"_What am I doing here?" I asked childishly. _

"_You are to work," the man briefly answered._

"_What do I do to work?" I asked again. _

_The man's hand began to tremble. "You'll see."_

"_But when?"_

_His eyes scorched onto mine. "Little girl," he spat, "I don't have time for you. You could just ask your boss later. Now leave my sight."_

"_But Mister-" His hand felt surprisingly cold against my face, considering the burning slap he gave me. _

"_Leave my sight." He glowered. I could feel my lips whimpered._

The world glowed red.

"_Here, Kitty," his voice taunted, "You won't be hurt under my lead. Well, it will hurt a bit, but, it won't be for long." He laughed maniacally. "After all, I will give you a much better feeling to cover up the pain." _

_I felt my face crumpled as the continuous tears dried layer by layer over my cheeks. My chest hurts. My head hurts. But what can I do? A rip from the raged cloth – if it was unfit to be called clothes – that covered my body echoed in my ears. I could only bit my lip when he went over me and started to kiss my hair. _

The ripples of the water started to clear, but it was a regret to see. The only thing that existed after was… darkness.

O.o.O

"Mei Mei," he called out. "Mei Mei?" He walked pass the mahogany doors lined up on both of his sides. He ascended the snaky steps and found the pink door he was looking for. He placed his hand on the metal knob and turned it. Then the door clicked open.

The room was filled with scents of plum blossoms and sandalwood. He knew if sandalwood was present in her room, something had happened. He softly skidded towards her, who lay peacefully on her bed.

Her transparent white lids curtained her eyes. Her lips which rimmed just above her chin smiled. It would have made been a happy sight for him to see if it weren't for the blackish-blue circles under her eyes and the tracks of tears that carpeted all the way down to her neck. He tried to wipe them, the dried tears, wipe them clean, but he realised much too long ago that it won't wipe the bad memories she lived with clean. So all he could only do was to pull her away from the memories, even if it was just for a little a while, he wanted to see her truly smile again. He reached for the brown locks covering her brows and swiped them away, then brushed his lips against the pale white skin of her forehead.

Her eyes broke open, and she yawned. Her head flung from side to side as she searched through the room the one who rescued her. She smiled when her eyes lingered on the bright profile, who was caressing her head. "Kiku nii-chan," she spoke.

"Hush." He gently smiled. "You need some rest."

She stretched her arms and gasped when her joints cracked. Kiku briefly chuckled.

"Nii-chan?"

"Hm?" Kiku combed his hand through her hair, tidying her tousled hair.

"Why are you home so early?" She rubbed her eyes as she yawned again.

Kiku frowned, almost pursing his lips. "You do not want to see me?"

"No," she abruptly uttered, childishly playing with him.

He folded his arms on the edge of her bed and hid behind them in sorrow. She giggled and patted her brother's hair. "Ne, Nii-chan, remember the song that Jii-chan always whistled to us?"

"M-hm." He nodded, still hiding behind his arms.

"Can you whistle it for me?" she pleaded. He sat up and thought for a moment, trying to remember the tunes. It was hard for him to find the complete song, since he had to go back in time to find the memories of his grandfather, and that meant wrecking pass through his bad memories as well. He strained his brows for a bit, struggling to look at the horrible images until he came to one of the warm and bright ones. They were there, Kiku and Mei Mei, small and smiling, and there was also their grandfather, laughing whole-heartedly. Then, as if on cue, the melody of his grandfather's whistle sounded through his ears, and he began to copy his whistle. Mei Mei closed here eyes contentedly and swayed along with the lilting music.

Kiku whistled a few more notes before resting on one final one, then he smiled. She grinned in her happiness and pulled him close for an embrace. He laughed on her shoulder as he closed his arm around her arms.

"Kiku nii-chan, when would it be when we are able to see Jii-chan again?"

Kiku fell silence for a moment, then loosened his arms and looked at Mei Mei straight in the eyes. "Someday we will, I promise."

She hopefully smiled at him, though she knew their wishes and hopes might never come true.

"So…" Kiku cheerfully grinned. "What do you want to eat today? My treat."

She clapped her hands gleefully. "Tempura!"

"No," Kiku disagreed, "You need to eat more meat, Oujo-sama."

Her face fell. "Tempura," she whimpered.

Kiku almost gave in to her sister's spoiled nature, but he shook his head. "Meat!"

She pouted. "Okay," she answered softly.

"Gotcha!" Kiku quickly trotted out of her bedroom before he mindlessly changed his mind. He could hear her giggles fainter as he continued to walk down the stairs.

((((((())))))))

Hello, everyone! I am back! Here is a pointless chapter about Mei Mei, since I have been writing so many pointless chapters for Yong Soo. You know, I am very relieved to have turned my back from the 'more speech, little description' style and am finally back to my old style of writing. So, how is it? Is it nicer? Only you can decide! ;) Have fun reading, and thank you for reading! Oh, and REVIEW!. ^-^


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